It's a Drag in Second Place
by Her Sweetness
Summary: On Near's birthday, L comes for a visit. And Mello just wont stand for that. MattxMello, hinted NearxL, MelloxL. OS.


Title: _It's a Drag in Second Place_

Rating: _T_

Summary: _On Near's birthday, L comes for a visit. And Mello just won't stand for that. MattxMello. Hinted MelloxL, NearxL. _

A/N: _Hello! Posting another one shot here. Don't mind me. XD_

-

The 24th of August once again rolled towards Wammy's House. With it, it had brought an early autumn, the leaves already masquerading colors on the trees, some in the gutters. The winds blew and it seemed a bit darker at five o' clock in the evening than it perhaps should have been. But of course, on August 24th, for the past three years, this day had always been dark for Mello who then sat in his and Matt's room on a chair next to the window. He brooded over a half-eaten bar of chocolate - his fifteenth one that day, he'd been going a lot faster than usual - and stared absently out of the window, trying not to search for L's car but doing so all the same.

"You going to speak to me anytime soon?" Matt asked from across the room, his voice almost foreign amongst all the bleeps coming from his DS.

Mello bit into the chocolate again. "I'm just thinking."

"Yeah, well, you're thinking in my game-playing chair." He was on his bed, propped up with pillows that were his own and those from Mello's bed. "I'm going to get carpal-tunnel from playing like this."

"You sit like that no matter where you are."

"It's the principle of the thing."

Mello ignored him.

After a few moments of silence, a screen popped up on Matt's system that told him he had completed another level. Matt lowered it, sighing lightly and stretching out all over the bed like a bored cat. "Maybe you should just go say happy birthday to the kid," he said casually, as if he were talking about the news or weather.

"_No_."

"I mean how bad could it be-"

"I said no!"

"Ah, come on, Mel!" Matt moaned. "You do this every year… it's really annoying. Near isn't doing anything wrong, he's probably downstairs playing with his dolls, annoyed because no one will leave him alone. What's the big deal that he's another year older? You're still older than he is if that's the problem."

"That's _not _it."

"Then what the hell _is_?" _He's such a child._

Mello looked away from the window suddenly and focused on the few bites left of his chocolate bar. Then, violently, he stuffed the rest of it into his mouth, small shards of the treat falling into the crevasses of the chair. "L," he said sullenly.

Matt rolled his eyes. "God, Mello."

"It's not fair," he insisted. "L comes for his visit on the day of Near's birthday, that's not a coincidence! Being first in line, of course he knows when Near's birthday is!"

"You know damn well his visits fall on any day."

Mello searched his pant pockets for another bar.

"And," Matt continued, "even when he didn't come on Near's birthday last year, he still sent a present for him. As he did _you_ and _me_. He does it for all the kids! So what if he's coming today?"

"It's not the present. Seeing him in person… seeing L…" He still searched, digging in and out of pockets. "It's…" He paused.

"It's what?"

Mello motioned over towards Matt. "Hey, pass me some chocolate," he said, referring to the chocolate stash under his mattress that Matt was currently seated on.

Matt grinned slightly and said, "No."

"I mean it, Matt, come on."

"Oh, I mean it too." The grin spread, the handheld game forgotten for the moment beside him. "Get off your ass and get it yourself."

Mello was glaring daggers, already in a very foul mood. He gathered himself up from the seat and came over to the bed, about to kneel by the mattress before being tackled by the redhead coming off of the bed. He pinned the blond to the ground and while Mello squirmed beneath him, Matt kept his grin and planted a chaste kiss on the boy's lips. "You're going to make me jealous with your cute crush on L, you know."

"_Crush_? I-"

Before he could say more, Matt flipped him on his belly and held his arms together behind the boy's back, standing him up and forcing him out of the door of the room. He pushed Mello out into the hallway and then shut and locked the door before Mello could get up.

"Matt! Matt!" He yelled, banging on the door. Two girls who were passing by slowed and stared. Mello whipped his head around, a horrible grimace tearing apart his features. "Just what the fuck are you looking at?" he screamed.

They gasped and ran away.

Then, a voice from inside the room: "Go downstairs, Mello. You know you want to see L, right? I see his car out the window."

Mello paused, his fists held in midair. His expression returned to normal and he walked down the hallway. _I'll go…_ he thought, _just to see L. Then I'm coming right back upstairs to kick the crap out of Matt. Or make out with him. Maybe both. In that order. Agh… I wonder if I should try to talk to L…? If I just stood in the wings and watched, I'd seem like a stalker and a freak… Besides, if I didn't show up then Near would think he scared me off… like maybe I'm in my room crying or something. Oh hell no. I'm talking to L! _

And by the time he had figured himself out, Mello was at the threshold of the playroom. As expected, almost every kid in the orphanage was there but Near couldn't be seen. Mello thought he'd have a better chance of seeing the kid if he got on his hands and knees and looked through everyone's legs. Near was probably miserable down there with all those people being loud and gyrating about. Mello grinned to himself.

Atop all of the children, even the older ones, Mello finally noticed a lot of spiky, raven hair. He blinked, standing on his tip-toes, still outside the circle. It was L for sure, he was standing in the middle of all the kids. Mello could see those deep circles under the detective's eyes from all the way over there.

"Alright, gangway," he shouted, barely heard against the chattering. He tried to fight his way through but the crowd just wouldn't budge. Growling to himself, he did indeed get down on all fours and ended up going through the crowd that way. Girls with skirts and dresses on yipped when they noticed some strange boy was on all-fours beneath them but Mello paid their silliness no mind and eventually, he popped out right in the center, coming face to face with Near's socks. Mello looked up, seeing Near sitting in a chair in his odd manner.

"Hello, Mello," he said, nodding at him.

"Yeah, hey," Mello muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, Mello. I was wondering when you would show up."

Mello's head jerked upwards and from his angle L seemed seven feet tall even in his hunched over state. Mello stood, forgetting to dust himself off as he would've any other time. "H-Hey there," he said, raising a hand.

"I was waiting for you."

"Y… You were?" _This is like that dream last week… only, all these people weren't there… and there's no chocolate-dipped strawberries._

"Yes," he said and gave a little smile. "Near can't open his present without all of his friends here."

"… Oh." _Friends? S'yeah…_

"Now, where's Matt?" L asked, looking about the room with his thumb pressed to his bottom lip.

"Oh, he's-"

"Present," Matt said, materializing out of the crowd as if he had been there all along. He looked over Mello's head at the pale boy twirling his hair around one finger. "Hey, Near. Happy birthday."

Mello could've sworn he'd seen a faint blush covering Near's cheeks. "Thank you," he said lightly.

"Well, now that we're all accounted for, Near, I want to give you something." L turned around to Watari who was standing behind him as per usual. They whispered something to each other and then Watari handed over a piece of paper and L turned again holding it. Mello stretched his neck to see and Matt chuckled at his friend's earnestness. L handed the paper to Near. "In your room is this."

Near took it and read carefully, the twirling of his hair slowing to a stop. "A thirty thousand piece puzzle…" he said, a bit of awe in his usually monotone voice.

Matt whistled.

Mello grinned smoothly. Oh what fun that would be to smash when Near was done.

"Thank you, L," Near said, slowly getting up from his seat. He walked into L and put his arms around the man's waist, hugging him timidly. L, who was probably very unused to raw displays of affection or appreciation directed towards his person, blinked and put his arms around Near's neck. The other orphans cheered and yelled "happy birthday" at Near who was in a world of his own but Mello was staring, face red as a tomato and jaw unhinged.

"Awww," Matt squealed. "Ain't that just the cutest thing you ever did see, Mel?"

"Th… That's not fair," Mello breathed so only Matt could hear. "He… he's doing that in front of me on purpose!"

Matt had a hard time holding in his laughter at his friend's bamboozled state. "It's the kid's birthday, take it easy."

"No! No, I will _not_ take it easy! Look! He's still hugging him! He's enjoying himself way too much!"

"Well… L is hot in a… depraved kinda way."

"I won't stand for this!" Mello shouted. "_Near, goddammit, cut that out_!"

And just as Near's head popped up and he and L looked over in Mello's direction, they both let out an unexpected bellow of terror, seeing Mello come charging at them, sending all three toppling to the ground in a pile.

Roger, who stood nearby, gasped. "Mello!"

Matt steadied the old man. "Ah, let it go. Mello's the type of kid who needs a hug every once in a while."

-

A/N: _Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please review!_


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